Bratislava 2000

2nd BRATISLAVA INTERNATIONAL FILM FESTIVAL 2000 For, beyond the shadow of a doubt, the 2nd Bratislava International Film Festival (1-9 December 2000), under Vladimir Krajniak (director) and Peter Nagel (programmer), is one of the most exciting on the European scene. With 123 films programmed in eight sections at six venues (89 more than in 1999), with a strong international competition of 19 feature films, with a showcase spotlighting "V4" countries (namely, the "Visegrad Four": Poland, Hungary, Slovakia, and the Czech Republic), with retrospective tributes to Mika Kaurismäki and Philippine Cinema, with Italy's Stefania Sandrelli and South Africa's Ian Kerkhof among the guests, with a 205-page catalogue and a festival daily, BIFF 2000 easily doubled last year's attendance midway through the festival and wrapped comfortably with over 40,000 visitors. For that matter, Slovak cinema is on the rebound too. Following the downfall in 1998 of nationalist prime minster Vladimír Mečiar,..